Gov’t moves to ease burden of ME-bound OFWs

MANILA, Philippines–A government inter-agency task force has approved the abolition of the monopoly of an organization of medical clinics in processing the medical requirements of overseas Filipino workers bound for the Middle East.

In a meeting held by the  House committee on overseas workers’ affairs, led by Rep. Wes Gatchalian,  the Inter-Agency Task Force on Gamca Decking System said it had approved the abolition of the monopoly of the clinics accredited by Gamca (GCC Approved Medical Centers Association) in processing the said requirements on OFWs.

GCC, or Gulf Cooperating Countries, is composed of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman at Qatar.

Gatchalian, senior vice chair of the committee, lauded the move of the Inter-Agency Task Force composed of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Health, Labor and Employment, and Justice. The task force’s decision is contained in a joint memorandum circular approved by the concerned agencies.

The circular also directed all foreign service posts to inform and seek the cooperation of the host governments in the implementation of Republic Act 8042, as amended by RA 10022,  which gives Filipino migrant workers the freedom to choose any of the DOH-accredited clinics for their medical examinations.

For the past 15 years, GCC countries have required prospective OFWs applying for employment in the said states to undergo pre-employment medical examinations only with Gamca clinics. The system also requires OFWs to set medical examination appointments with a central office which refers them to designated member-clinics. This practice has been commonly referred to as “decking.”

Medical examinations under Gamca policy cost each OFW about P2,700. Data from Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that about 1.4 million OFWs were deployed to GCC states in 2012.

There are only 19 Gamca accredited clinics and based on the given figures, these clinics collect about P960 million a year for the medical examinations, equivalent to P51 million each clinic per year.

With the Gamca abolition and the effectivity of the Joint Memorandum Circular,  the cost of  medical examination for GCC bound OFWs could be lowered to P1,500 or a savings of some P1,200.00 per OFW.

“The old practice, which has been a huge travesty to our migrant workers, has resulted in exorbitant medical fees and additional burden to our OFW’s aside from being outlawed under our jurisdiction. Therefore the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force has cleared the way for our OFWs to exercise their democratic right in choosing their preferred clinics,” according to Gatchalian.